Good Food is an exhibition on sustainable food production

A global community of farmers, gardeners, thinkers and scientists are working on sustainable ways to grow food. Since 2017, photographer Ruud Sies and creative producer Hanneke van Hintum have been travelling through 120 pioneers in sustainable agriculture and food production in 22 countries on five continents. From 12 June to 1 November, those photos will be shown during: Good Food. A journey through the world of food and resilience at the Nederlands Fotomuseum.

In photography and video, Sies portrays pioneers in their own environment, focusing on their humanity and beliefs. From small-scale farmers in Uganda and urban farmers in India to a Sicilian farmer and pastry chef, and a Dutch pioneer in regenerative agriculture. From this still-growing collection of stories, the Nederlands Fotomuseum is showing a selection of some 40 photographic and filmic portraits that show the diversity and resilience of these pioneers. Good Food is curated by curator Frits Gierstberg and part of the international project Resilience Food Stories.

For each person or community, in addition to their portrait, one or two images of their country, workplace or immediate surroundings are shown, revealing the relationship between people and landscape. In short video portraits, they themselves speak out. Their stories are personal and concrete, revealing how cooperation with nature takes shape in practice. At a time when the agricultural debate is often dominated by loss and crisis, the exhibition explicitly opts for a hopeful perspective: the urgency is palpable, but the tone remains optimistic.

Healthy food systems

''The strength of the exhibition lies in the images and in the palpable enthusiasm of those portrayed. As a viewer, you experience: how exciting, courageous and beautiful. Ruud Sies' attentive photography, born of encounter and involvement, contributes greatly to this.''

The exhibition further shows that healthy food systems, based on cooperation with nature and without predation, are realistic and scalable. New scientific insights and technologies are combined with age-old farming knowledge. Besides farmers and gardeners, thinkers and researchers are also featured, including researcher and organic farmer Meino Smit, writer Carolyn Steel and organic farmer and founder of the Soil Association Patrick Holden. Their contributions place the personal stories in a broader cultural, ecological and economic context and show how sustainable agriculture is taking shape worldwide.